The 2016 top 10 of new books set in Venice

December 9, 2016

Winter is the perfect time to nestle into a comfortable chair with a hot chocolate and a fascinating book. A good book is characterized by the fact that it captures your imagination completely. You won’t get out of the chair until you turned the last page.

For me, and probably also for you, I love to read about Venice. It makes me dream away and count the number of days until my next visit. I have therefore put together a list of 10 books that are set in Venice and that were published in 2016. Most of them are novels, but there are also informative books, a photography book and a children’s story. They are all on my ‘to read’ list, but I didn’t have time yet to read all of them. If you have, feel free to share your feedback in the comments below. Click on the titles for more details about the books.

In his 25th adventure, commissario Brunetti is asked to solve a case of 15 years ago. A teenage girl fell into a canal late at night. She was saved by an alcoholic who couldn’t remember anything on the next day. After 15 years, her grandmother asks Brunetti to investigate the case. But, it might not be a case at all … (If you are planning to visit Venice and want to discover the different locations from these books, you can find a walk in my post ‘Follow Brunetti on a successful trip around Venice‘.)

When Claudia goes on holiday with her friend Alana, she doesn’t expect anything extraordinary to occur. But, then she meets Lorenzo. He’s a dreamy Italian who captures Claudia’s heart in an unexpected way. Their romance blossoms in this classic Venetian adventure.

This suspenseful World War II love story is set against the beauty, mystery, and danger of occupied Venice in 1945. One night, a fisherman named Cenzo finds a young woman floating in the lagoon. Giulia is born to a wealthy Jewish family and on the run from the Wehrmacht SS. Cenzo decides to protect Giulia rather than hand her over to the Nazis.

When a young tour guide, Alvise Marangon, offers to help an English Grand Tourist, little does he know that it will lead to blackmail and conspiracy. He even gets recruited into the city’s powerful secret service to investigate a murder case. Amidst the world of gambling dens and courtesans, it seems that only Alvise can prevent the Ascension day to turn into bloody mayhem. Gregory Dowling lives in Venice and teaches at Ca’Foscari.

This crime novel is part of the Raja Williams Mystery series, but can be read stand-alone. In the middle of the night, police inspector Francesco Morelli finds a priest brutally murdered in front of the altar. The killer was shot in the act of committing the crime. Raja and Vinny are called to Venice to help. What started as a single murder leads them to an international counterfeiting ring, a mysterious hacker and centuries-old Vatican secrets.

In this mesmerizing finale to the intriguing Carnivia Trilogy, Venetian police captain Kat Tapo and U.S. Army intelligence analyst Holly Boland embark on their most dangerous and disturbing journey yet. The combination of a murder, a cover-up and a computer virus leads to a conspiracy involving the security services, the Church, and the CIA. This devastating plot goes back decades ago and could destroy them.

This witty biography exposes the astonishing life of Giacomo Casanova in detail. It starts from the impoverished child, abandoned by his parents, who became the famous writer, notorious libertine, and self-invented genius whose name still resonates today. At the same time, it is a dazzling portrait of eighteenth-century Europe from serving girls to kings and courtiers.

What is Venice worth? To whom does this urban treasure belong? Art historian Salvatore Settis urgently poses these questions, igniting a new debate about Venice and cultural patrimony at large. Venetians are increasingly abandoning their hometown and Venice’s fragile fate has become emblematic of the future of historic cities everywhere as it capitulates to tourists and those who profit from them. This is a passionate plea to secure the soul of Venice.

The second book in the Dream of Venice series is a must have if you love Venice. The beautiful pictures are taken all over the island. These are not necessarily the traditional landmarks, but often hidden corners or unexpected views. Each page-size picture is accompanied by a text from a contributor with a special connection to Venice, in this case mainly architects. Part of the proceeds go to the Fondazione Querini Stampalia Venezia.

Mimi and Piggy have always dreamed of visiting Venice. The canals, the history, the food! When at last they get their chance to visit, it’s the adventure of a lifetime for them. But their adventure goes off track when the two best friends become separated in this bustling, unfamiliar city. Will Mimi find her way back to Piggy in time to save their special trip? This fun travel story for children is beautifully illustrated.

I do have the book at home but it seems that it is sold out in the online shops (international and in Italy). I will check with a few large libraries in Venice if they still have it. I will keep you updated.

I too love Venice and reading books set there. After reading your list I bought An English Rose in Venice. It cost five pounds sterling on Amazon- about seven euros. I feel compelled to suggest that nobody else waste their money and be as disappointed as I am right now.
It is absolutely superficial and flimsy. It’s not a book. It’s more like a short story than even a novella. There are spelling mistakes and the writing style is really juvenile.
Most of all it gives only a cliched and frankly silly view of the most wonderful,multi-layered and fascinating city. It’s like a dreadful short story that you would read in a silly magazine at the hairdressers or in the doctors/dentists waiting room. I urge people to avoid it and stick to real books about Venice from people like Donna Leon, David Hewson and others. I have never written such a blatantly negative review before but I was so shocked by this expensive drivel.

I’m really sorry you didn’t like it. It’s still on my to-read list, so I cannot comment any further on this. I will check with some other people and see if I leave it on this page or not. Thanks for mentioning this.

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